Audio books are becoming more and more popular in recent years partly due to the busy lifestyle of city dwellers and the popularity of MP3 players and iPods. Unlike paperback books, you can listen to an audio title anytime anywhere, while you are jogging, shopping, or doing exercise. There are several ways to grab a copy of audio book. You can buy an audio CD, download a digital audio file, or rent the audio CD. So which method is suitable for you?
Buying an audio book is more or less like buying a paperback book. Audio CDs are available in many online book shops and book clubs. These audio CDs are playable in any regular CD players. Alternatively, you can also buy an audio book MP3/CD player which is equipped with book navigation system, forward and reverse skipping by title, chapter or page, and re-read replay function. Audio CD costs anywhere from $20 to $60; and you can keep it as long as you want.
You can also download an audio title from one of the book resellers. Downloadable audio titles are recorded in MP3, WMA, Playaway and other digital formats. The files can be played in your PC and portable device (iPod or MP3 players), or you can burn it to CD. You can choose to buy and download individual audio titles, or pay a monthly subscription fee and receive one to two free downloads per month. Downloadable audio titles are usually less expensive than audio CDs. Joining a download plan can help you save even more. Downloadable audio titles are a good choice for international listeners. You can download them instantly without paying for shipping cost.
Some web sites also provide free download service. For example, the LibriVox project allows volunteers to record some classic titles in the public domains. The recordings are available for free download. However, the performance of these volunteers may vary greatly. Some are good, some are monotone and some may overact. In addition, the chapters are usually read by different volunteers. Books in the public domains refer to anything published in the U.S. prior to 1923, so you will not have a chance to download the current bestsellers either.
Other than buying or downloading, you can also rent audio books online. Audio book rental is like DVD rental, you pay a monthly fee and rent one to three audio CDs at a time. There is no deal time or overdue fee. Once you finish listening to the audio CD, you can return it in the pre-paid envelope and receive the next one on your book list. To avoid shipping delay, you should join the two at a time plan. After you finish the first book, return it and the third book will be shipped to you while you are still listening to the second book. Audio book rental is very suitable for avid listeners. Theoretically, you can rent unlimited audio CDs paying less than $30 a month. Unfortunately, the rental plan is only available in the U.S., Canada, and some European countries. They are not available for international listeners.
Whether you should buy, download or rent audio books depends on your lifestyle, where you live, how often you listen to them, and your budget. Regardless of the method you choose, audio books are affordable, convenient and easily accessible. If you enjoy reading paperback books, you should give audio books a try, it will be an entertaining and enlightening experience.
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